PSJA Says McAllen Annexation Impossible

By James Osborne, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

Feb. 20–PHARR — The fate of the high-end subdivision a developer is trying to de-annex from the PSJA school district fell into further doubt on Monday, when the PSJA school board claimed the property’s geography disallowed it from joining McAllen school district.

Since first petitioning the PSJA school board late last year, the developer has claimed his 19-acre residential development near the intersection of Jackson and Yuma roads can be connected to the McAllen school district via a larger 44-acre tract also up for de-annexation. The 44-acre property, which is owned by a private trust, abuts the McAllen schools’ boundary, but now PSJA’s attorneys are claiming that is doesn’t do so sufficiently to meet annexation requirements.

“Bill (Bednar) found some case law suggesting a single point is not enough,” said PSJA School Board Attorney Gus Acevedo, referring to findings made by the district’s attorney in the de-annexation case. “That will certainly be a legal question for the (Texas education) commissioner.”

Eddie Cantu, part owner of Esponjas Development and the son of prominent real estate developer Cruz Cantu, said he still planned to file his appeal for de-annexation with the Texas Education Agency before the deadline next month.

“That’s a legal opinion,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be adjacent; it just has to be contiguous. And the definition of contiguous is touching.”

Cantu requested annexation into McAllen on the grounds the subdivision has a city of McAllen address, a relatively common phenomenon in Texas where school district limits and city limits rarely coincide. The deeper issue seemed to lie in the fact McAllen, one of the wealthiest school districts in Hidalgo County, is largely perceived as superior to PSJA and would likely mean higher sales for Cantu when the homes go on the market.

The McAllen School Board approved Cantu’s petition for annexation last month, opposing the PSJA School Board ruling it would hurt the socio-economic diversity of both school districts. While still under construction, the subdivision is expected to contain 65 homes worth at least $200,000 each.

For the district that acquires it, Jackson Meadows would likely generate at least $260,000 a year in property tax revenue. That would be offset to some degree by adjustments in state financing, but both districts have made it clear they will fight for the land.

“I feel a battle coming with McAllen and I’m not going to let it go,” said PSJA Superintendent Arturo Guajardo, who is actually set to retire in May. “This is something that a lot of school districts could end up getting involved in.

“School district boundaries do not match city boundaries, and up until now that’s always been respected.”

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